Are 'Breathing' Batteries on the Horizon?

Today's lithium-ion batteries are reaching an energy limit in terms of powering laptops, cell phones, and other gadgets. But according to New Scientist, some chemists in the UK are saying there's a way to break through the looming capacity barrier--by letting the batteries "breathe" oxygen from the air.

Today's lithium-ion batteries are reaching an energy limit in terms of powering laptops, cell phones, and other gadgets. But according to New Scientist, some chemists in the UK believe there's a way to break through the looming capacity barrier--by letting the batteries "breathe" oxygen from the air.

"The major barrier to increasing the energy density of these batteries is the positive electrode," said Peter Bruce, of the University of St Andrews, in the article. "Everyone wants to find a way to push up the amount of lithium stored there, which would raise the capacity." The idea is to do what the zinc-air batteries in hearing aids do--get their power by reacting zinc with oxygen--except in a lithium-air version, the report said. These new batteries would be made from lightweight porous carbon instead of dense, heavy lithium cobalt oxide.

It's actually similar to a battery-fuel-cell hybrid like the Honda FCX Clarity. But in this case, the team's prototype has eight times the capacity of a cell phone battery, according to the report. It's all still in the experimental stage. But the idea would have applications in everything from laptop batteries to electric cars--which notoriously require hundreds of pounds of batteries in order to work. (Image credit: Peter Bruce/EPSRC)

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